beauty English · revision 3394

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1275|origins=la bellus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈbjuː.ti/, US /ˈbjuː.t̬i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|beaute]], also bealte,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|xno|beute]], Old French biauté, earlier beltet,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-vul|*bellitātem|t=the state of being handsome]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|bellus|t=pretty, handsome, charming]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) which Watkins traces to a diminutive of [[ine-pro|*deu-|t=to do, perform; show favour]].^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster relates bellus to Latin bonus “good”.^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[beau]] and [[belle]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Physical attractiveness, in the human face or figure: about 1275 in the OED,^(OED 1989) before 1325 in ''Cursor Mundi'' in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) and the early 14th century in Etymonline, which also has the Middle English sense “goodness, courtesy”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In classical Latin bellus was used especially of women and children, or ironically of men.^(Etymonline) Beauty in things other than the human form is from 1340,^(OED 1989) and the general quality that pleases the senses or mind from about 1300.^(OED 1989) A beautiful person, especially a beautiful woman, often used ironically, is from 1483.^(OED 1989) ''Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'' is an old idea found in Theocritus, recorded in its English form from the 17th century, and ''beauty is only skin-deep'' from the early 17th century.^(Cresswell 2021) The colloquial sense, an excellent example of something, as in ''that's a beauty'', is common in dialect and general speech.^(Wright 1898)^(AHD) ''Beauteous'' is from about 1400, ''beautiful'' from about 1443, ''beautify'' from 1526 and ''beautician'' from 1924.^(Barnhart 1988) Stendhal defined beauty as “the promise of happiness”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1275 – beauty of face or figure.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – beauty in general.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1443 – ''beautiful''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1483 – a beautiful person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1526 – ''beautify''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 17th century – “beauty is only skin-deep”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1924 – ''beautician''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The quality of being pleasing to the senses or the mind, as through harmony of form or colour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A beautiful person, especially a woman.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An excellent or striking example of something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An attractive feature or advantage: ''the beauty of the plan''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[beaut]]

+ * [[beauteous]]

+ * [[beautician]]

+ * [[beautiful]]

+ * [[beautify]]

+ * [[beautyberry]]

+ * [[beautybush]]

+ * [[nonbeauty]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[beau]]

+ * [[belle]]

+ * [[embellish]]

+ * [[bounty]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}